A Hundred Years of Solitude
by Tanya Lilac
Summary: A hundred years is a long time. The Visoreds find that they've been wrong about a few things all along; time does change everything, and it's not always a bad thing. 052:I Don't Understand You. They can play with fire. LIME. Kensei/Lisa. Note Ratings.
1. Beginnings: Meeting You

Prompt: 001. Beginnings

First fic! I actually wrote this in February, but that's irrelevant. What is relevant is that this is for fanfic100's challenge. I've decided to post them at a different (open) livejournal, and also… here. For convenience's sake.

Ratings change per chapter, all will be set in Bleachverse (typically, before the start of the story) – just in different times.

**A Hundred Years of Solitude**

By Tanya Lilac

_Meeting You_

They had met after a captain's meeting. Lisa had been introduced to Sarugaki Hiyori and Aizen Sousuke about a week ago when she had been inducted as Kyouraku Shunsui's third lieutenant. The former had been excessively talkative, and the latter excessively polite. She'd seen some of the other captains in the past, but never like this.

"Good afternoon, Muguruma-taichou," she said, bowing. To this day, it was the first and only polite thing she would ever say to him. She had been waiting in the courtyard for her captain, idly leafing through the book she carried with her. Everyone else had left long since. Kensei stopped and turned to face her. Her fringe was parted to the left, falling neatly across her forehead to elongate her face. Her glasses, a deep crimson, seemed to hint at a fiery streak within her, even as she stood with a fairly large book held with both hands in front of her stomach. Kensei smiled inwardly at her choice of hakama – or lack thereof – few lieutenants, or shinigami, for that matter, in the Gotei 13 found skirts practical wear for their line of work.

"Yadomaru-san," he replied politely. He had heard a lot about this woman – she had a tongue sharper than a zanpakutou and had a reputation for being 'overly curious'. "I hear you … have big shoes to fill."

She arched an eyebrow, apparently unfazed by his rank. "I'll manage," she replied, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Kyouraku-taichou was here on time today, wasn't he?"

He could only grin at her arrogance. "True. May I ask what miracle woke him from his afternoon nap?"

"I threatened to be his representative." A smirk. "Naked."

"You'll have to come up with a better excuse next time," he chuckled.

A sharp gust of wind blew through the courtyard, and Kensei caught a glimpse of her thighs before the wind died down.

"That wouldn't have been so bad," Kensei muttered to himself as she left a few minutes later, a few paces behind her captain as he continued to converse with Ukitake Juushiro.

As if she had felt him watching her, Lisa turned her head and, after seeing him from the corner of her eye like she had expected, she smirked. After a long, tense moment, she turned away again and Kensei released the breath that he had been holding.

"Not so bad at all," he murmured with a quiet sigh.


	2. Air: My SplitSecond Mistake

054 Air

**A Hundred Years of Solitude**

By Tanya Lilac

_My Split-Second Mistake_

Breathe in.

Left, right. Elbow block.

Dodge right, feint left.

Breathe out.

Spin kick.

Flip back, find footing and...

Breathe in.

Over and over, her brain gave the commands and her gigai responded with split-second precision.

Kensei smirked at her, watching as she bounced on the balls of her feet, shaking her head as she prepared for another bout, training weights clinking and shifting. She hadn't approved of them initially – said it felt like cheating. When, out of the corner of her eye, Lisa saw Mashiro twirl around whilst wearing the weights, she acquiesced. It was easier to build muscle, and trained her reflexes – in half the time.

That had been three months ago. Now, they were familiar, comfortable and – best of all – her gigai was becoming as strong as her soul.

"How did you do it?" Kensei asked, surging forward, Tachikaze in hand. Lisa dodged and leaned back, taking in a sharp breath as the zanpakutou skimmed over her stomach, arching backwards to flip away, right foot landing first, in front of her left, knee bending to brace her weight. She sprang forward, light on her feet, a dagger in hand to match his zanpakutou. Sliding beyond the range of his reach, she jumped and spun with the grace of a dancer, and he blocked her spinning kick, as expected.

"Do what?" she asked, already in a defensive stance. Her gigai was tired after a long day – sooner or later, she'd slip up. She could feel it.

"Your training, in Soul Society."

An exchange of blows and Lisa hardly flinched as his fists struck her training weights. He'd taken his off for the day.

"Seems like you had your work cut out for you, with a captain like that."

He was trying to distract her. Worse still, he was faster and his attacks were just as strong. If there was one thing she had learned about Kensei over the last month, it was why he had earned his rank - he could probably fight against one of them, Hollowfied, with just his shikai.

"Part of the reason why I'm ambidextrous," she replied, switching her stance to prove her point. Kensei dodged past the onslaught of attacks and grinned.

Deep breath in... and – an opening!

Lisa saw what he was doing, but her gigai, worn from the day, failed to react in time as Kensei slipped past her defences and sent her sprawling with a well aimed elbow to the right of her solar plexus. She landed on her back, winded and dazed, black edging around the edge of her vision, shock and oblivion threatening to overwhelm her.

Kensei strode over, looking amused. "Looks like your gigai gave in."

Lisa closed her eyes, limbs heavy as adrenaline pumped through her veins. The former captain knelt on the floor and began to remove her weights, watching as she began to tremble, free of her burdens. She blinked away tears of shock and took deep breaths as she tried to steady herself. It felt as if there was not enough air in the room – that, or her lungs were refusing to cooperate.

"Thanks for the concern," she hissed. After a few more deep breaths, she continued. "Fuck," she said through gritted teeth. "Could you have hit me any harder?"

Urahara stuck his head into the room. "Is it too much to hope that nothing's been broken?" he asked with a little trill.

Lisa leaned back against the wall. Kensei ran his hands over her stomach, and she slapped his hands away with a groan, her fists clenching and her nails biting into her palm as pain flared in her side. "Broken ribs, definitely," Kensei said.

"I'll ask Tessai-san to look into it. Please try to keep your gigai intact until then, please, Yadomaru-san? Muguruma-san, the same goes for you." Urahara left them alone and Kensei settled beside her, his head leaning against the cracked yellow wall. Lisa shifted against him slightly, and a pained whimper tore itself from her throat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in this much pain.

Oh wait, their first and last fight as shinigami… and hollow.

Kensei seemed to be thinking the same thing as he heard her harsh breaths, and ran a hand through his cropped hair, turning aside.

"I'm sorry."

She chuckled quietly and he turned to look at her, surprised.

"We should try that again," Lisa grinned up at him.

That was definitely the adrenaline speaking.


	3. Dark:I Can't Say I'm Sorry

074 – Dark

A rare continuation! Some things don't line up, I find, and I like it – it's like the years are melting together and eventually nothing really makes sense any more. They don't care about when something has happened, it's just more important that it _has_.

**A Hundred Years of Solitude**

By Tanya Lilac

_I Can't Say I'm Sorry_

Lisa has a funny, secret habit (much like the rest of her habits) of taking baths at night, lit only by a few candles.

The only one who knows this is Kensei. He is the first to use the bath the next morning, and he notices, occasionally, the drops of wax mingled with the scent of her shampoo. He doesn't need to ask her why; it'll be his secret to keep.

On the night she accidentally breaks her ribs from sparring with him, she waits, as per usual, until she loses everyone to sleep. The house is silent as she makes her way to the bathroom, with her towel and candles.

Kensei waits for the pipes to start running and after about twenty five seconds, he knows the water is warm – he's timed it himself, but he has to wait for her to fill the bath first, which will take a good ten minutes.

After about six minutes, the pipes begin to protest. The bath is a bit more than half full. Kensei creeps over to the door. After a few more moments (he doesn't quite know why he hesitates), he slides it open and makes his way to the bathroom. The last thing he expects to see is Lisa leaning against the bathroom doorframe, with a towel wrapped around her and a candle in hand. Her hair is untied and dampened, and it sticks to her skin like dark shadows.

He doesn't say anything, and neither does she.

She turns and walks back into the bathroom, and he follows her, locking the door behind him. She's anticipated this much; on the silver tray that normally resides a few candles is, for tonight, home to sixteen. Lisa hangs up her towel and sits on the small stool as Kensei takes off his shirt – both of them are glad that its summer. She reaches to turn off the bath but he stops her and does it himself, watching as her jaw tightens.

He knows he owes her nothing – Tessai has already healed her – but it doesn't stop him from... well, doing whatever he's trying to do. Kensei pours water onto her hair again, and it streaks down her body in little rivulets to pool on the tiles. His hands are steady and gentle as he caresses her, but he hesitates before he touches her newly-healed wound. Suddenly taken by a bold impulse, he places a hand on her cheek, turning her face to his, and he kisses her fiercely. Lisa, taken by surprise, tears herself away and he almost smiles at the sight of her lips, looking almost swollen in the dim light. He hadn't expected her to be so... fragile.

Still, she has not yet pushed him away. After a moment, Kensei reaches for the soap, working it into a rich lather before his hands return once more to her skin, and Lisa find herself shivering at his touch in little sensitive areas – behind her left knee, the small of her back, a tiny hollow in her throat, beneath her breasts – these are all things Kensei memorises.

Before he continues, he rinses his hands and picks up her shampoo bottle. He works it into her hair, smiling to himself at the familiar scent, and she murmurs as he massages her scalp.

When at last she is clean, Kensei is naked as well as he helps her into the tub. The water is still hot and Lisa smiles as he runs a finger down her cheek.

The bath is spacious and the two of them fit in easily, her back against his chest as she begins to doze off, lulled by the sound of his heartbeat.

A sharp wind blows through the windows and the soft glow of their candles is torn away, leaving them in darkness and, now Kensei thinks he understands why she likes to bathe in the dark, so late at night.

His reiatsu flutters but curls around her and Lisa finds her own doing the same, and she realises she is comforted by his presence. In the silence and the darkness, she is able to forget, for a time, about everything. Who she is, where she is, when she is... _what_ she is.

But tonight, for the pain he has caused, she is glad he is here to help her to remember, and the darkness no longer holds emptiness absolute, but … something else. Something she hasn't felt for a very long time; she's almost forgotten that it has a name.


	4. Sound: I Can't Hear You

037: Sound

**A/N: Rated M for past tense of a four lettered word.** XD A bit excessive? Probably.

**A Hundred Years of Solitude**

By Tanya Lilac

_I Can't Hear You_

Kensei turned over in his futon, sighing as he heard a muffled cough from the next room. This was followed by a quiet sniff, and the rustling of sheets as the occupant settled back down. He was going to kill Urahara. It was all his fault because now he was the one who had to put up with the patient's bullshit. Immunity to human diseases was the most essential thing for a gigai in the transient world - how had he not realised such a thing? Tessai was conveniently away doing 'research', leaving only Urahara around to tease the first 'test subject' about her predicament as he came up with a solution. But not a cure.

There was another muffled coughing fit from the room next door, and Kensei groaned as he rolled out of his futon and approached the screens that separated them. He slid them open slowly, and the sharp, comforting smell of eucalyptus enveloped him.

"What do you want?" The voice was groggy, muted and comically nasal. Lisa rolled over to face him and he could see, in the dim light, that her eyes were feverishly bright. Her hair was plastered to her pallid skin, and her forehead was covered with a cloth that had lost all of its soothing coolness.

"I was about to ask you the same," he replied, smirking. "How are you feeling?"

"None of your business, really."

"I hope you're joking, bastard. You're keeping me up here, coughing and scratching and sniffing." He shuffled awkwardly on the spot. Lisa wasn't up for arguing, that much was clear.

"Read to me," she demanded in a quiet voice, breaking the silence.

"What?" Kensei crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow as she looked up at him expectantly.

"If you want me to sleep, read to me. It helps."

"What are you reading?"

"Nothing. That bastard doesn't believe in fiction. There are no books here." A coughing fit. In the aftermath, an almost inaudible murmur. "I like the sound of your voice."

"Eh?"

"My ears are the ones that are fucked, I won't say it again."

She turned away, embarrassed, and Kensei decided to oblige her, finally stepping over the threshold and closing the screens behind him. He sat down beside her futon and peeled the cloth off her forehead before rinsing it in a nearby bowl set on a low table. Lisa watched him curiously as he lay the cool, damp cloth back on her skin.

"How are you feeling?" He asked again.

"Hot. Too hot," she said, fidgeting beneath the blanket, kicking it off so it lay twisted beside her. "I want to take a bath."

"Tough luck." Kensei scoffed. "You'd pass out halfway down the hallway. Like anyone would help you, anyway."

Lisa smiled up at him wickedly, and he looked away.

"What do you want to know?" He asked gruffly, trying to ignore the look she was giving him. She was probably delirious anyway. Maybe. Who knew?

"Anything. What about your shinigami days?"

He frowned. "I thought you knew about me. You could have been in the second division, with all of the sneaking around that you did."

"Not all of the time," she sighed, and stopped as a coughing fit took over her. "And what makes you think I was interested in you?"

Kensei sighed, resigned as he handed her a glass of water and began to tell her about how he had ended up in Seretei. Things hadn't been easy; after adjusting to life in Rukongai, finding a place in a more... civilised environment had been a bit of a struggle, viewed with more amusement in hindsight. However, his honesty and knack for thinking on his feet had earned him a good place amongst students and teachers alike.

"You don't sugar-coat things..." Lisa said quietly. She had settled after another spoonful of bitter medicine and her breaths had evened out until it sounded like she was almost asleep, if not for her still fever-bright eyes as she watched him recall old times. "... a lot of people like that."

"Hn. You should sleep."

"Tell me more," she whispered.

"Hmm... I remember when Tachikaze materialised. The wind tore through the classroom, and everyone ran off, petrified."

She smirked. "Were you picked on? The sealed form is so different to your shikai..."

"No one dared."

"I would have," a breathy chuckle. "If we'd met earlier, maybe..."

Kensei stopped to think about it. There was no way she could have risen past the lieutenant's seat in division eight – he had a feeling that Shunsui would hang around for a long time, and Juushiro too, despite his apparent frailty. If they had met earlier, even by twenty years, would things be different now? Kensei shifted slightly, not entirely comfortable with this train of thought – he wasn't a 'what if' kind of person. Lisa liked to ponder those kinds of things but it wasn't really for him...

His silence, and then the movement, woke Lisa and she started, eyes flying open.

"Are you leaving?" She asked, nasally. "I wasn't asleep."

Kensei shook his head. "You are ridiculous. Next time you get sick, I'll get Rose to sit up with you."

Lisa sighed, and slowly raised her hand to push her fringe back off her forehead. "Shut up and talk, you wuss," she grumbled. "Or I'll stay awake just to piss you off."

Kensei doubted she really could, in this state – her eyelids were beginning to droop, her blinks getting longer and longer until it was more comfortable to just close her eyes.

"Do you … want to know something?"

Lisa waited a while before replying. "I want to know _every_thing."

Kensei paused awkwardly, and cleared his throat. "I … I don't think I've ever met someone like you … but I'm glad I did."

Lisa's breathing had evened out into deep, slow breaths, and she didn't say anything. Kensei sighed, and replaced the cloth on her forehead before standing up and returning to his room, and shut the screens behind him.


	5. Fire: I Don't Understand You

052 Fire

This is actually an edited version because I don't have the courage to post the original up here. The original you can find on my open LJ, evaline-x (dot livejournal. com). It's well, we could say 'more steamy', but that makes me blush.

Enjoy!

**A Hundred Years of Solitude**

By Tanya Lilac

_I Don't Understand You  
(Don't Be Jealous)_

In the early sixties, the Visoreds had decided to split for a time – Shinji, Hiyori, Hacchi, Love and Mashiro had decided to take a year off in the Swiss Alps to train away from human interference, while Rose, Lisa and Kensei volunteered to fend for themselves in an apartment in Paris.

As a group, they had lived in Spain for the past six months, saving up for the apartment and for transporting the five of them to Switzerland (and their supplies for their sojourn). Of course, the trouble had been for them to keep busy and for them to keep the apartment after everyone else had left.

It wasn't the first time they had been forced to get jobs – they had money sitting in little caches and banks around the world, waiting for them to return. Kensei had found a job quickly as a mechanic. He had brushed up on his skills in Spain – he'd learned to work with cars in the twenties in London before the war, but his working knowledge had become rusty (no pun intended). He was strong, and was allowed to pretty much do as he liked, and he didn't need to deal with customers all the time.

Rose was soon accepted at a nearby club, playing live music with the rest of their small in-house band. During the day, he wrote compositions to send to musicians – and his haunting melodies were adored by local singers and musical talents alike. He left the house early in the evening and didn't return until around dawn, heavy eyed and smelling like cigar smoke.

Lisa, it had been decided, was unable to be a humble house-maker (they had experimented once – Lisa had stayed home for a full week, cooking and cleaning. After eight days, she snapped and broke all of the cups so they drank water out of bowls until new glasses were procured. Her excuse had been that there was no longer anything to satisfy her curiosity). She found a job working at a small, but busy bakery. She woke early in the morning to help bake, returned home for breakfast and a two hour nap before returning to the bakery just before lunch, until the end of the day. They, at the very least, always had bread in their apartment.

Since Lisa never bothered to correct their assumptions, and Kensei was a man of little words, the couple who owned the bakery assumed that they were a young, newlywed couple, and were only too happy to give them a hand.

"She says the same thing every day," Kensei said, turning around in the stairwell to wait for Lisa, who had fallen behind (her beret had fallen off). His denim overalls smelled like engine grease and metal, and his worn boots left marks against the linoleum floors. She, on the other hand, was wearing a cream dress, printed with magnolias, that swished and fluttered about her knees as she walked, teasing the laces of her brown leather boots. They looked like a perfectly normal couple. Nevertheless, humans instinctively gave them a wide berth on the streets.

Both were carrying large paper bags filled with bread that had been baked that morning, and Lisa set hers on the floor outside room 3A. She tidied her loose wavy hair and beret before picking up and cradling the bag of bread in one arm as she knocked on the door. A young man opened the door after a short time, wearing only his trousers.

"Good afternoon, my dear Lisa."

His voice floated up to Kensei, who refrained from snorting.

"Good afternoon, Theo," Lisa replied, staring straight at his eyebrows. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a brief appraisal of his physique. He wasn't really their landlord – his mother was – but she was hardly ever around so he collected their rent instead. Most of the time, he was wore very little clothes, or tight shirts... even in the middle of winter.

"What can I do for you today?" He asked, leaning casually on the door frame. He had curled, dark brown hair and a narrow, straight nose. His skin was rarely blemished and his frame, while not broad, was built and muscular. She successfully avoided refreshing her memory of his chest; her pride wouldn't allow her to look, anyway.

"Well Theo, I was wondering if you could do me a favour and take this bread off my hands," she replied, with a smile. It was insincere, of course, but he could never tell the difference.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied smoothly and, as Lisa handed the bag to him, he took the opportunity to brush a hand lightly across her breasts. As per usual, Lisa said nothing, but her smile shrank and her jaw tightened. "Say, Lisa… What are you doing tonight? I was thinking we could go and have a bit of fun, see a movie… have a bit of wine…"

"It's such a shame, Theo," she replied sweetly. "I'm actually planning on making fantastically wild and passionate love to my lover."

Kensei almost dropped what he was holding. She had probably said all of that with a straight face.

Theo was unfazed. "If he would allow it, I would gladly join-"

"I said it was _such_ a shame, Theo." Lisa replied, turning abruptly. Theo, apparently, knew his chance had come and gone, and shut the door dejectedly. The Visored turned left at the end of the corridor and began to sprint up the stairs, with nothing to carry. Kensei scoffed and continued to trudge up the stairs.

"I don't know why you let him talk to you like that," Kensei grumbled. "If it was anyone else…"

Lisa stopped at the landing and spun around, her hands behind her back. "If he's a bit sweet on me, all the better. He'll swallow rental extensions easier." She cocked her head to the side and gave him a brilliant smile. A real one, this time. "_Ne soyez pas jalouse_, _mon amour_."

_Jealous_? Kensei rolled his eyes. Obviously, she was wasting her acting talent in that bakery. "Would you like to eat tonight?" He stopped at the step before the landing, and they were standing eye to eye. She was still smiling, and Kensei could only grin back.

"_Touché_... _taichou_," she whispered, leaning forward to plant a soft, languid kiss on his lips. She drew away a moment later, his keys jangling in her hands. Kensei couldn't do much, other than drop all of the bread they had carried for the past half hour (something he _really_ didn't want to do), and only watched, growling as she turned and ran up the rest of the stairs.

"I really need to fix that stupid elevator," he muttered to himself as she turned a sharp left and opened their apartment. Kensei sighed and continued up the stairs by himself. When he arrived at their unit, he walked inside and kicked the door shut behind him. Lisa was lying on the chaise, limbs akimbo, and did not bother getting up to help him as he took off his boots and walked across the room to put the bread on the kitchen counter. Everything was neat and tidy – Rose had already cleaned the apartment before he left.

The former ninth captain placed the bags on the counter and the kettle on the stove, lighting the gas with practiced ease. He leaned against the bench as he blew out the match, watching as Lisa absent-mindedly took her glasses off and set them on the coffee table. "Does it really bother you that much?" she asked suddenly, sliding off the chaise and standing up. She had opened the top few buttons of her dress, the garment falling open to reveal her chest and the dip of her cleavage. Kensei had to blink a few times, but then realised she was talking about something else. Their previous, previous topic. Her mind worked in loops he'd learned to navigate and predict over the past sixty or so years.

"Not really, I just don't get why you don't bother setting things straight."

"Let them think what they like," she said quietly. Kensei sighed and turned around, looking out the window at the dreary buildings that surrounded them. Lisa crept over to him, and stood on tiptoe, her chin in the crook between neck and shoulder, her arms around his waist.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She smiled as his voice rumbled through his chest and into her blood, making her pulse skip.

"What does it look like?" she asked, sliding her hand beneath his overalls, fingers steady against firm skin and muscle. "She's right – you really are an idiot, _taichou_."

The kettle began to whistle and Kensei pushed her away, leaving her grinning at him like a cat as she sat on the dining table, her crossing her legs. He switched off the stove and placed the kettle on a chopping board. He crossed his arms across his chest and turned around.

"Quit it, will you? I'm not your captain. I'm not anyone's captain anymore," he added quietly, eyes averted. Kensei looked up at her. "I don't get you."

"Oh piss off, no one asked you to." She stood and began to walk over to him.

"Stop." The command rang through the room and for a moment, he thought that she would ignore him completely, as per usual. She obeyed, and watched him, eyes guarded and her posture relaxed.

"Turn around."

Again, wordless compliance. This was a new game for her; she wanted to know what the rules were.

"Hands on the table."

Kensei took a deep breath. "Feet apart."

"Hips back."

Lisa refrained from looking back at him when she felt his hands on her hips, bare beneath her dress, his fingers skimming across her skin until he found the band of her underwear.

"Tilt your head back."

Her hair, dark and rich, flowed down her back like silk. She mewled softly, despising herself for it, and he chuckled as he rubbed his cheek against hers. Lisa sighed at the feel of the stubble, rough against her skin. Lisa sighed as he planted hot, open mouthed kisses upon her neck while his other hand fondled her breasts through her unbuttoned dress.

"_Kensei_..."

The latch in the door clicked and Rose appeared in the doorway, looking comically dishevelled and livid at the same time, and yet completely unsurprised. "Have you two completely lost your mind?" He asked furiously, slamming the door shut behind him. "The pluses are going haywire! I could feel your reiatsu five blocks away!" Rose disappeared into his room, muttering to himself. "Are you incapable of, oh, I don't know, _multitasking_?"

The pair looked at each other for a moment and Lisa sighed, falling into a wooden dining chair as Kensei straightened and walked back over to the kettle. She buttoned up her dress, unclipped her stockings and pulled them off. Lisa lay them across the back of the chair before she opened the pantry, looking for something to drink as Kensei returned to the kettle.

Rose returned with a book of matches and tossed it to the former captain. "Burn it, or throw it out. I'll get a new one this week. We need a bigger one, anyway." He took a last look at the pair, shook his head, and left abruptly, leaving them alone. They turned to face each other, and Lisa knew exactly what he was thinking.

"We can burn it later,"she said, emerging from the pantry to reveal her prize – a bottle of whiskey. She opened it with her mouth and spat out the cork before she took a generous gulp, wincing as it burned its way down her throat. Kensei held out his hand and she passed it over to him.

"What now, then?" Kensei asked, grimacing as he took a swig of the rich, golden liquor. He set the bottle down on the counter and pushed it up against the wall.

"Bath?" Lisa picked up her underwear and threw it at him. With a grin, he tucked it into the pocket of his overalls.

"Thanks for the present, Lisa."

"You're a pervert."

"... _You_ are calling me a pervert." Kensei scoffed. "I must be bad."

"I'm not the same, it's called having a healthy interest!"

"Really?" He arched an eyebrow and pulled her close to him, breathing in the scent of her skin. These days, she always smelled like butter and sugar – he was never quite sure if he liked it or not. "Well, I have a _very _healthy interest..."

Kensei was rewarded as she turned bright red at the rest of his comment, and he grinned victoriously. "Bath?"

Lisa glared at him, eyes flashing. "That was _my _idea."


End file.
